Dodgers Diamondbacks Game Three Preview

The Dodgers look to avoid losing two of three against Arizona for the second time in two weeks.

Last night’s game was the exact opposite of Friday night. Boring, painful, but the bullpen was mostly good. Scott Kazmir struggled but kept the Dodgers in the game, and they couldn’t get anything going off Braden Shipley. They had some hard, poorly-located outs, but that’s baseball.

The lost two of three in Arizona to start the second half, and they look to avoid doing that again in game three. Bud Norris gets the start for LA. He’s coming off a great start against the Rays, as he held them to two hits and no runs in 6.1 innings. Norris has gone at least five in each of his five starts and has gone six or more twice, so he’s at least consistent in that way. He’s only allowed three runs in three starts at Dodger Stadium, all of them coming in one game against the Orioles. Norris allowed four runs in five innings in Arizona in the first game after the break, the only game the Dodgers won in that three game set.

Patrick Corbin got the loss in that game and he gets a chance for revenge today. Corbin is making his 21st start of the season, but after years of looking like an up-and-coming number two starter, Corbin has been awful this season. His 5.31 ERA and 5.06 FIP are the highest in the DBack rotation by anyone not named Shelby Miller, and pretty much nothing has gone right for him. His hits, walks, strikeouts and home runs per nine are all much higher than any of his previous marks, and he’s only had three starts in which he allowed fewer than two runs. One of those starts came against the Dodgers in April. He hasn’t completed six innings or more in more than a month, so the Dodgers should be able to get something going off him.

Yasiel Puig makes his return and starts in right field. Speculating, I’d guess this means he won’t be moved seeing as every time he takes the field there’s a chance he blows a hamstring. Doubt the Dodgers would want to risk that in a trade by playing him.

Another outfielder returns to the lineup as Enrique Hernandez starts in center against a lefty. Hernandez was activated from the DL today and will start for the first time since June 27th. Kiké has struggled this season, but his versatility is huge for a Dodger team that likes to mix and match lineups. Austin Barnes was optioned to make room for Hernandez.

In injury news, Chris Hatcher is unlikely to pitch again this season due to a third degree oblique strain. If his season is indeed over, Hatcher had a terrible 2016 coming off a great finish to his 2015 season, so hopefully he can figure out what was wrong and come back next year.

Next: Outfield Trade Rumors

The Dodger bullpen could get a couple late-season additions regardless of what happens at the deadline, as Alex Wood and Frankie Montas could both see time out of the bullpen in September. Wood has been on the DL with an elbow issue and Montas has been DL’d twice with two different rib issues.

First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 PST and will be shown on Sportsnet LA.